Rumsfeld Vows to Strengthen North African Military Ties

Donald Rumsfeld, the US defense secretary, promised to strengthen military ties with North Africa yesterday in a visit that highlighted the growing importance of the region in Washington’s battle against radical Islamists.

Mr Rumsfeld told authorities in Algiers that he wanted to increase military and counter-terrorism cooperation with them. Pentagon officials admitted that arms sales were a possibility.

"We look forward to strengthening our military-to-military relationship and our cooperation in counter-terrorism," Mr Rumsfeld said during a joint appearance with Algeria’s president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika. In what officials said was the first ever visit by a US defence secretary to Algeria, Mr Rumsfeld avoided saying whether future cooperation was dependent on political reforms.

The Algerian army is still seen as a considerable power in the shadows after hijacking control of the country when Islamists threatened to win elections in 1992. Some 120,000 people were killed in the ensuing civil war. A handful of groups loosely allied with al-Qaida still operate in Algeria. A senior official traveling with Mr Rumsfeld said that the US was considering selling military equipment to Algeria. He gave no details beyond saying these might be for counter-terrorism.

Mr Rumsfeld had delivered a similar message on Saturday to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, a country which human rights groups criticize for its suppression of dissent.

Last night Mr Rumsfeld was due in Morocco, a country already involved in the rendition flights in which suspected Islamists are transported by the CIA to prisons in third countries. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that the US was helping local intelligence services build a new detention centre near Rabat.